Chancellor Randy Woodson recently announced the creation of a tuition scholarship for the children of full-time staff and faculty, beginning in the fall of 2016. The benefit will begin as a minimum $2,000 annual scholarship for the dependents of full-time employees who qualify for admission to the university, a discount of about 25 percent of annual tuition and fees.

The INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award recognizes colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion through initiatives, programs and outreach; student recruitment, retention and completion; and hiring practices for faculty and staff. This year, 92 schools were acknowledged.

The NY Times' The Upshot recently indexed colleges' efforts on economic diversity. The College Access Index is a combination of a colleges' Pell graduates and net price, compared with the average school. The table also shows the colleges' endowment per student, which is a measure of the resources available to colleges.

The North Carolina community college recently made the announcement offering two free years for students of public, private and home schools in Richmond and Scotland counties who have a 3.0-grade-point average or higher and have completed two college courses. Called the RichmondCC Guarantee, the program is slated to begin in fall 2016.

​With a $220,000 grant from the U.S. Education Department, the college's goal is to guide 150 low-income, first-generation and/or disabled students through the college experience to graduate from the community college or transfer to a four-year institution by offering programs specifically designed to meet students' academic needs including additional advisor appointments and tutoring.

(Ireland): Amid concerns over the lack of women in leadership roles in tertiary institutions, the country's Higher Education Authority appointed a review panel to investigate gender discrimination. Higher Education Authority figures revealed 19 percent of university professors are women as of December 2014.

Oregon's legislature recently advanced a bill that would fund a tuition waiver for community college students. Washington, D.C. lawmakers are also considering a bill that would create a scholarship to cover tuition and fees for qualifying students who attend the District of Columbia Community College.

The university system is adding optional questions to undergraduate applications about sexual orientation and gender identity in an effort to allow its colleges and universities to track enrollment and graduating students from a range of orientations and identities. It also announced that, starting July 1, all new construction projects or major renovations will include gender-neutral restrooms.

After a recent shooting, which ended fatally for one of the college's long-time librarians, the college's board of trustees recently announced the resolution that calls for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina State House grounds.

Following a full year of conversations and consultation with a wide range of resources, a recent board of trustees meeting approved a policy to "consider for admission those applicants who consistently live and identify as women, regardless of gender assigned to them at birth."

Thanks to a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the $200,000 grant will be used to fund a pilot program at 15 of Virginia’s community colleges that would offer high-quality, open textbooks and other Open Educational Resources (OER).

In an effort to lower college student debt upon graduation, prospective students who qualify for the federal Pell grant, live at home, and attend a school within a 45-mile radius of the college will receive tuition at $12,000 instead of the current $23,000 cost.

Inspired by the rising level of national and local discourse surrounding events and issues of equity and inclusion related to race, intellectual diversity, religion, identity and culture, the university recently began Carolina Conversations, a coordinated effort that gives the campus community an avenue to share thoughts and opinions with the administration. The campaign includes an interactive website, a calendar of all campus events related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and a series of ongoing events to encourage dialogue.

(Australia): At the launch of the university's inaugural diversity festival, the Students' Association recently initiated the Student Well-being Advisory Group, consisting of up to 14 students from a different groups, that aims to further develop diversity and inclusivity within the campus' decision-making.

The recent post by The New York Times describes the Student Aid Bill of Rights signed by President Obama to help students deal with the growing burden of college loans. With the memorandum, Mr. Obama directed federal agencies to take steps to make it easier for college students to finance their education, pay back their loans, and avoid being taken advantage of by lenders.

Aspiring to bring together all walks, the new 8,400-square-foot building, which used traditional building techniques and materials, features a gathering space for 500 people, a smaller meeting room, and an outdoor area with a fire pit where salmon can be cooked in the traditional way.

In an effort to foster a more gender-inclusive community, many restrooms at the university have been converted from gender-specific to gender-inclusive facilities regardless of how one self-identifies.

The university's Ethnic Resource Center recently hosted its first world cafe style discussion aiming to showcase the contributions that people of color have made to the environmental movement and to have a critical dialogue about the current state of the campus environmental movement.

Sponsored by the university's athletic department and the Pride Center, an upcoming men's game will be themed LGBTQ Equality Game to provide a means for athletes, coaches and fans to stand up and create an atmosphere of inclusion, recognizing the courage and openness of athletes at all levels who have come out as LGBTQ.

(U.S.): The university's Campus Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Trans Committee have recently partnered to identify the most used buildings on campus not near gender-neutral restrooms. In an effort to become more inclusive of all students, identified buildings will have gender-neutral bathrooms built in them.

The establishment of the Provost's Committee for Diversity, birthed from a proposed, student project, will be comprised of different subcommittees and expects participants to engage in an ongoing investigation of racial and social justice, intersectionality, and awareness of marginalized groups on campus.

Spurred by a campus demonstration of the national frustration over racial inequity in the criminal justice system, campus officials welcomed students back by convening a newly planned round of public discussions of race on campus.

President Obama recently announced a proposal to make the first two years of community college free requiring students attend community college at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and make progress toward completing their program. Community colleges, the federal government and participating states would have requirements that must be met as part of this proposal.

(U.S.): The newly published research in Nature Climate Change describes some of the hidden and complicated social barriers to participation in sustainability-related science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by underrepresented groups and recommends a course to action.

The university's Diversity and Inclusion Committee now hosts monthly heritage events where foods from different cultures are presented to students to promote diversity and ethnic awareness across campus.

Tabled at an earlier meeting, the bill, which calls for the implementation of unisex restrooms in future buildings, passed favorably through the Student Government Association recently and will benefit a variety of people including families and transgender people.

In an effort to change the culture on the subject of diversity, the Tempe Undergraduate Student Government passed the Diversity On Campus Act, which calls for the formation of a volunteer committee that will try to expand the curriculum of university 101 classes to include the subject of diversity.

One of the university's two new initiatives is an expansion of its partnership with Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA), a national program dedicated to developing the academic and leadership potential of talented high school students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The other program, Freshman Scholars Institute (FSI), helps admitted students from low-income families and less advantaged backgrounds make the transition to the rigor of Princeton education through a seven-week summer program.

The purpose of the recently held Diversity and Transparency Rally, organized by more than 50 student organizations, was to inform the campus community about issues such as a decrease of diversity and affordability resources, and the university's recent decision to decline divestiture from fossil fuel companies.

Working with the three biggest university employers of students, the student's campaign is based on an estimate of how much students would need to earn per hour in a 15-hour workweek in order to pay back the cost of one year of tuition and fees.

The university's new Center for Diversity and Inclusion is intended to enhance and strengthen its commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive community. The center’s staff supports and advocates for students from traditionally underrepresented or marginalized populations and creates collaborative partnerships with campus and community members to promote dialogue and social change.

(U.S.): A new plan addressing five main goals, including promoting diversity values, engaging campus leadership, coordinating planning efforts, and improvement of recruitment and retention of faculty and students, aims to garner ideas and support from students in order to accomplish.

(U.S.): In an effort to bring awareness to the university's Hispanic and Latino culture, the university's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hosted a Hispanic Heritage Night, which was organized through the recently initiated student club WVU Hispanic and Latino Association.

(Nigeria): A diversity festival was recently held at the university with the theme Unity in Diversity. This was a large cultural event on campus that encouraged people to dress in various cultural attires and learn from one another.

The university rolled out a new website to support its mission to maintain a campus climate that welcomes diversity and will provide easy access to information and resources for those interested in fostering diversity across the campus.

Renee Madison, attorney and associate director of enforcement for the National Collegiate Athletics Association, will now serve on the university’s Cabinet as Senior Advisor to the President for Diversity and Compliance, announced the university’s president this September. She will lead university efforts to promote a campus culture of respect and inclusion.

Bindu Kolli Jayne started as the chief diversity officer and associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity and compliance this past June. Jayne will be responsible for the university’s compliance with laws, regulations and guidelines related to affirmative action, equal opportunity and disability services.

Freshman orientation this fall was met with a new skit, “Our Names, Our Stories,” to educate university students about acceptance with a focus on race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic diversity and gender diversity.

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